The Only Safe Driving Tip You Should Read Today

What safe driving tip would you give to a fellow driver? You may obey all the laws and drive like a perfectionist. However, having an accident while driving is a real danger. Surprisingly, there are more than 1.3 million people that perish in automobile accidents each year, which equals 3,287 deaths every day around the world. Over 90 percent of those accidents occur because one or both parties was speeding. Ask any personal injury attorney, and they will tell you one safe driving tip: Never speed while driving!

The Department of Transportation Sets Speed Limits

Sure, your car probably has a speedometer that goes up to 120 miles per hour. However, what your car can do and the appropriate speed is two different things. Speed limits are set by the Department of Transportation. Areas where there is a great deal of traffic and congestions usually have lower speed limits. Freeways that are wide open will have higher speed limits. Residential streets can be anywhere from 25-40 miles per hour. It all depends on reports taken from a study of the Memphis roadways.

The speed limit is set according to the best interest of the public. Can you imagine going 55 miles per hour through a school zone? Free flow traffic studies allow the DOT to see the appropriate speed in the area. Now, people tend to go a couple of miles over the speed limit. Going a couple of miles over the speed limit is not going to cause damage that going 10-30 miles over will. Did you know that you are less likely to be able to control your car at high speeds? When you speed, your chances of getting into an accident increase, as does the probability of the severity.

The Dangers Associated With Speeding

In Memphis, there are roughly 4,605,100 people that drive the roadways, and this does not account for visitors in the area. One out of every 6,529 people will die in a crash, and one out of every 3,170 people will be in a serious car accident. The odds are already against you based on statistics. However, don’t ignore the best safe driving tip we can offer, don’t speed! When you speed, you increase the statistics. Speeding limits your stopping distance gives you less time to react, and it can increase the severity of an impact. You are more likely to have serious injuries if you are involved in a crash, especially if you or the other party is speeding.

When Speed Limits Are Negotiable

You probably think that speeding is going a couple of miles over the limit. Speeding is operating a vehicle at a speed that is inappropriate for the traffic and weather conditions. If it is raining or there is heavy fog in the area, you need to adjust your speed accordingly. If traffic is congested and not moving fast, you need to adjust your speed to maintain safety on the roads. The speed limits are just guidelines under normal conditions. There are many times on Memphis roadways that you cannot maintain those speeds safely. You must learn to slow down when necessary.

Ask any personal injury attorney and they will tell you the horrific accidents that happen because of speeding. Law firms, like Gatti, Keltner, Bienvenu & Montesi, PLC, deal with people, and their relatives, that have lost life or limb from an accident. The best safe driving tip you can give anyone is to tell them to never speed on the roadways. Going the speed limit is exercising a reasonable responsibility to protect both you and the others on the roads. If you are ever involved in an accident and you were speeding, you are negligent and violated the safety of yourself and others.